“Once BGMI ban is removed, there will be additional and significant growth”: Krafton CEO breaks silence on ban in India

During the Q&A session of Krafton’s FY2022 earnings call, CEO Chang Han Kim said that his team has been putting in considerable effort to bring BGMI to the Indian market and that they expect substantial growth opportunities once the ban is lifted. The company released its revenue report for the previous year, 2022, where it generated a total of $396 million in net profits.

Regarding the title's unbanning and future, here's what the CEO said:

"BGMI India, we have put in a lot of effort to bring about the unbanning of the sanctions and once the ban is removed, we believe there will be offer additional and significant growth opportunities."

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Krafton claims to be putting substantial effort into bringing back BGMI in India

Battlegrounds Mobile India had a massive number of active users during the time it was available. The company claimed on the game's first anniversary that it had surpassed 100 million registered players, representing BGMI's widespread popularity in the country.

Though the South Korean publisher has mentioned that it has been putting a lot of effort into resuming the game's operations, a similar statement was also made during its Q3 2022 revenue report.

While answering a question during the earnings call, the CEO talked about how this year would be different from the last, saying:

"Looking on the Mobile side, due to global recession and also the impact coming from the reopening, the overall economic backdrop as well as the fact that the services was suspended for BGMI. 2022 was a very difficult operational year for us. Year 2023, we believe that the regional uncertainties will start to mitigate, resulting in a positive outcome. We have put a lot of efforts to resume the BGMI service in India."

The Indian government mandated the removal of BGMI from the Apple App and Google Play Stores due to data security concerns on July 28 last year, just a year after its release in the country.

The decision came as a significant disappointment for Krafton and its users, as the battle royale game was highly popular and had a massive userbase in India. The report also presented that it had seen a decline in 2022's revenue due to the ban.

Krafton’s 2022 financial report (Image via Krafton)

Based on the latest report, in 2022, Krafton generated approximately $1.46 billion in sales and $595 million in operating profits, while the firm earned around $396 million in net profits. Compared to 2021, the sales of the PC and console divisions of Krafton experienced a YoY growth of 17% and 430%, respectively, while the mobile section saw a 12% decrease.

Krafton’s mobile games revenue saw a decline (Image via Krafton)

Krafton's PUBG New State Mobile has been building a good esports ecosystem in India, as a number of third-party tournaments have been conducted in the past few months. Recently, ESL and Nodwin-organized Pro Series have generated quite good viewership for the title.

Several former BGMI players switched to New State Mobile after waiting more than six months for the re-launch of the game. Leading Indian organizations like S8UL, GodLike, Global Esports, and more have now entered the title's competitive scene with their dedicated rosters.